Business/Consumer Services

McGraw Hill Financial profit tops estimates

ChelseyDulaney

McGraw Hill Financial Inc. posted a stronger-than-expected profit in its first quarter as all its units logged revenue growth despite currency headwinds.

The parent company of Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has been working to cut costs, targeting $100 million in cuts through the end of 2016 and aiming for at least 1.25 percentage points of margin improvements this year.

Overall, McGraw Hill reported a profit of $303 million, or $1.10 a share, compared with a profit of $248 million, or 89 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, earnings from continuing operations were $1.09 a share.

Revenue grew 6.4% to $1.27 billion

Analysts had expected earnings of $1 a share and revenue of $1.27 billion.

McGraw Hill's largest unit, S&P, logged 6% revenue growth to $606 million. The unit has made some better-than-expected strides on cost cuts due to buyouts and layoffs recently, plus other operational improvements. The company also settled major crisis-era federal and state lawsuits related to the unit in February.

One of McGraw Hill's star units has been Platts, a dominant player in energy and oil pricing. In the latest quarter, Platts logged high single-digits revenue growth on price assessments strength and growth in market data subscriptions.

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